In the soft, quiet darkness of night the sudden distant thrum of thunder began to reverberate from far off in the atmosphere.

Following a mild day with sunny intervals, with the great bowl of the sky becoming leaden with gathering clouds we anticipated the potential of thunder storms with the coming night.

And then, there they were, bruising the air with their clangs and bangs, piercing the darkness with accompanying electric stabs that fired our bedroom into flashes of celestial light, transforming the experience of a restful night into one of constant awakening, as one series of thunderclaps after another hurrying to do their theatrical part in the unfolding drama, succeeded with another and yet another languidly passing thunderstorm.

The torrential rains accompanying the sturm und drang of the heavenly display of unbridled power accomplished what a series of mild days and light rain had been unable to, up until then; melting what was left of the snow and the ice. Heralding true spring and the awakening of our garden flora.